THE dispute between the caretaker Punjab government and the Pakistan Cricket Board over who should foot the security bill for the T20 league matches in Lahore and Rawalpindi may deprive cricket enthusiasts in the province of the entertainment that the Pakistan Super League has to offer. The PCB has already threatened to move all scheduled matches to Karachi unless the government withdraws its demand of Rs450m from the board for making security arrangements for the matches. Punjab’s Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has rightly stated that his caretaker set-up in the province does not have the authority to undertake such a huge expense. The cabinet too has voted against spending such a big amount from taxpayers’ money to provide security cover for what is a commercial franchised league. The PCB, on the other hand, says it was the government’s duty to make security arrangements, whatever the cost. It also fears that if it makes the payment for the cost of the security as demanded by the provincial government it would set a precedent and Sindh may also demand the same for the matches in Karachi. Also, it says there’s no guarantee that the Punjab government would not come up with similar demands during future international bilateral series. Hence, the stand-off between the two sides, despite back-and-forth discussions and meetings during the last two days.

One is constrained to see that it is the government’s argument that stands out, especially at a time when the federation and provinces are required to save every penny they can to meet fiscal targets for securing the IMF loan deal. During the last fiscal year, the provincial government had spent Rs2.2bn on security arrangements for PSL and other international bilateral series. Around a quarter of that amount was spent on the league alone. That is a huge cost, much of which was expended on the arrangement of security lights, towers and wires, generators and fuel, transportation of security personnel, etc. The PSL being a commercial league, with PCB earning substantial profits from it, it is only fair that the latter picks up the security bill, instead of putting pressure on the government by threatening to shift the matches to Karachi. The league is built upon the core concept of ‘home and away’ and the PCB cannot deprive Pakistan’s cricket buffs of the ‘home cities’ of the teams of ‘cricketainment’.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2023